2015/09/08

Some introductory Basics on Evernote

 I'm constantly getting questions on "just the basics please" for Evernote - so this week and next, some basics! Also, the Help for Evernote is fantastic: https://evernote.com/contact/support/

The Home Screen

From the Home Screen you can create new notes and notebooks, as well as browse, organize, and search your Evernote account.

1. Sidebar: Offers many ways to browse the contents of your Evernote account.
2. Note List: Displays all of the notes in your Evernote account, with the most recently updated notes shown first. This is also where search results are displayed.
3. Note Editor: Where you view and edit the note currently selected from the Note List. By default, your most recently updated note will be displayed when you launch Evernote.
4. Search: Search your notes for keywords, locations, tags and more. Evernote searches the titles and contents of your notes, as well as text inside images attached to notes.
5. New Note Button: Creates a new note in a specified notebook. When clicked, a blank note will appear in the Note Editor where it can be edited immediately. You may also click the drop-down menu to the right of the button to select which notebook you want to create the note in.
6. Activity Stream Button: Click to view your Activity Stream, which shows updates that have occurred in your Shared Notes, Shared Notebooks and Joined Notebooks.
7. Sync Button: Click to to manually sync your Evernote account. Evernote automatically syncs regularly, so using this button is optional. Sync ensures that everything in your Evernote account is available anytime and anywhere that you have access to Evernote, including on your phone, tablet, computer and on the Web.
8. Account Info Button: Click to add a new Evernote account, sign out, or view information about your account, including your current monthly usage, your Evernote email address and more.

Create and Edit a Note

An Evernote note can capture just about anything, including text, images, files, audio, Web Clips and more. All notes are searchable, making them easy to find when you need them. Evernote even searches for typed and handwritten text inside attached images.

Creating a New Note

To create a new note, click the New Note icon, located at the top-center of the application window. By default, the note will be created in your default notebook. You can also click the drop-down menu to create the note in another notebook.

Once created, your note will automatically be saved to Evernote and synced across all your devices.

Adding Attachments

Just about anything can be attached to a note, including files, images and audio. To add an attachment, drag and drop it into the body of your note, or use any of the following buttons in the Note Editor:

• Audio: Click to attach audio using any compatible microphone.
• File: Click to attach an image or any file.

Formatting Text

To format text in a note, use any of the formatting tools as you would in a normal word processor:

1. Font Tools: Click to change the font, font size and font styles.
2. Layout & Special Element Tools: Click to align text or create bulleted and numbered lists, or to insert special elements such as a checkbox, table or horizontal rule.

Removing Text Formatting

Sometimes you may prefer to paste text into a note and remove all formatting on that text (remove bold, italics, sizes, and other rich text). Removing formatting is especially helpful when copying and pasting text from a webpage with a variety of fonts, layouts. Here are a few ways to eliminate the formatting:

1. Paste as Plain Text: Instead of pasting into the note as usual, select Edit > Paste as Text. The pasted text will be inserted into the note without any formatting whatsoever.
2. Simplify Formatting: Select Format > Simplify Formatting to convert an entire note into a default font size, font color, and line spacing while retaining basic rich text formatting (bold, italics, underline, hyperlinks, and bullet points).
3. Remove formatting: Select Format > Remove formatting to convert an entire note into a plain fixed-width font and size with no text formatting whatsoever.

Editing a Note

To edit the contents of a note, click it in the Note List to display its contents in the Note Editor, then click anywhere in the body of the note to make edits. You may also double-click the note to open it in a separate window.

Deleting a Note

To delete a note, simply click it in the Note List to select it, then hit the Delete key on your keyboard. The note will be moved to your Trash Notebook.

Changing Note Details

To edit information about a note, click the Note Info button at the top-right of the Note Editor. You can change a note's location details, created and updated dates, and other details.